Hello to all you late-season ski-tourers out there. I hope this finds Everyone keeping well and enjoying the end to April.
Spent today touring into the Park and on to Tremor Glacier from Blackcomb Ski Area. Travel conditions today varied. And, the backcountry is a 'Ghost Town' right now ~ a great time to be travelling; not many souls out there at all.
The winds were blowing from the East all day in the high alpine (strong at times, too). The temperatures were cold throughout the day and the little bit of snow we recieved last Thursday had been blown around and relocated onto West through South aspects recently.
It is fair to say that the snow surface is very variable right now; I encountered nearly every type of snow condition today from different types of crust to wind-affected snow to a handful of decent powder turns.
A note:
* ski crampons are recommended right now if you find yourself moving from lower or moderatley-angled terrain into 'steeper' terrain for tracksetting in the alpine (especially if that 'steeper' terrain is north or east-facing; the reason is that the recent winds have polished areas on these aspects/type of terrain and it's quite challenging to set an efficient track without the aid of ski crampons). An example of where some of these tricky conditions may be lurking, right now, will be the last pitch on the ascent to the Patterson col from Trorey Gl., or the north-face of Decker Gl. right now. Please consider such a slippery surface as a potential hazard ~ avoid combinations like a hardened and slippery slope above open crevasses or cliffs. Unexpected slips can result in a fast and uncontrolled slide in this kind of terrain and that could lead to a potential injury (even a tweaked knee could be a real challenge to manage out there). Be careful and perhaps look for some alternate routes that use more favorable terrain for tracksetting.
* Found some good corn skiing at lower elevations in the afternoon on southwest aspects. As always, please consider the type of terrain you're on and the terrain above you if the snow you're skiing/exposed to is being thawed by the sun ~ essentially, things are becoming increasingly more unstable. Timing is key for safe travel in the Spring.
* Fast travel conditions on lower-angled glaciated terrain currently.
Enjoy the solitude out there.
Wishing Everyone safe travels.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Member
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
[MCR] Bugaboos-Rogers Pass
Eric, Felix, Erica and I completed the Bugaboos-Rogers Pass traverse April 13-22, nine days of travel with one down day due to warm temps and light rain on April 20.
We started the trip with 30-40 cm of recent storm snow atop strong melt freeze crusts. Luckily at the beginning of the trip we had wind in the right places (scouring the new snow out of the top of Bugaboo-Snowpatch col) and calm in the right places (no wind effect on Bill's Pass the same day - face shots), and just enough visibility. By day 3, April 15, we were dealing with melt-freeze conditions on solar aspects and a dry, fairly well-settled snowpack on north aspects, allowing us to get over Climax Col and Hume Pass. Easy travel up the souths and boot-top powder on the norths.
Another system blew in by day 5 (April 17), we managed to get over Malachite Col but due to misty weather and flat light I failed to see a crevasse bridge and collapsed a bridge about 4 meters wide, 15 meters long and 1.2 meters thick on the Carbonate Icefield as we were gaining the ridge off International Mountain. The rope was on so all ended well. The lesson learned though was that a thin Purcell snowpack this year is causing some crevasses to not be bridged as well as might be expected this time of year.
By day 7 (April 19) things were warming a lot and wet snow and light rain began. Both the Beaver Glacier and Grand Glacier exits did not look appealing at all: steep, thin looking snowpack and lots of crevasses. Either things have changed in the last several years or the snowpack is thinner than normal, both these glaciers were places I would normally try to avoid in the condition I saw them.
We opted for the lower elevation Beaver Overlook exit. On April 20 there was a significant wet avalanche cycle on all aspects up to 2700 m. We waited it out for a day until the clear night on April 20/21 and raced up the narrow snow-filled gullies and thin snowpack through the steep moraines on a "supportive enough" radiation crust, getting onto the Deville Icefield by 8 am after a 5 am start by headlamp.
The last day on April 23 started out overcast with wind gusts to approximately 100 kph (two of us were blown over) and ended with an intense white-out down the Illecillewaet glacier. I was in those moraines 4 times this winter and wasn't quite sure where I was yesterday until we were in the forest.
By the end of the day several cm of snow had fallen on a warm crust. It was bonding well with little slab formation at the time and would have been good skiing if we could have seen it. As it was I threw my prussik ahead of me about 1000 times on the descent as it was the only reference we had to keep us on our feet!
Good times were had by all!
Mark Klassen
Mountain Guide
www.alpinism.com
[MCR] Louise Falls
Climbed Louise Falls yesterday, April 22nd. It is huge and was in spring conditions. Melt/freeze 'corn' ice overlies the surface and I had to clear between 4 and 6 inches away to place screws and that was the most work on the climb -clearing away the corn ice to get screws. On the low angled ice I was cautious with my crampons shearing through the corn and I kicked steps, on the steeper stuff I was concerned with my tools rippiing out and got them deepish. Face shots with every placement (the corn ice tends to spray more than cold ice). I suspect that the route is locked up now (6am, April 23rd) as it is -7 C in Canmore as I type this, and that the corn ice will be dinnerplating until it thaws.
The walk off is icy, we did 1 30m rappel off of tree on the walk off to avoid most of the frontpointing down.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
[MCR] Bow Summit
A couple of hot laps this evening at Bow summit. Excellent skiing. At 6pm
17cm of cold low density storm snow overlay temperature crust. This crust
carries reasonably well from the parking lot and up so long as you're not
in the tight trees. In open glades at treeline the crust is solid. Lots of
wind from the North today and the alpine looks pretty hammered. No Na
observed but limited obs & vis. Storm came in warm and cooled off and so
at lower elevations at least there is good bonding with the crust.
17cm of cold low density storm snow overlay temperature crust. This crust
carries reasonably well from the parking lot and up so long as you're not
in the tight trees. In open glades at treeline the crust is solid. Lots of
wind from the North today and the alpine looks pretty hammered. No Na
observed but limited obs & vis. Storm came in warm and cooled off and so
at lower elevations at least there is good bonding with the crust.
Lots of snow north and east of Bow Summit (I was at the Bighorn Reserve
earlier today west of Nordegg), much less south of Bow Summit through
Lake Louise to Banff.
Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG/ASG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
Monday, April 20, 2009
[MCR] Spearhead Traverse
Canada West Mountain School and I donated a Mc Bride Range Traverse at the Canadian Avalanche Foundation’s fund raiser this past winter. This past week’s end (16-19th) was its date.
The first day we made it from Whistler to the Detour Ridge (Naden Pass) but then weather came in dropping nearly half a meter of snow and a poor forecast. So, due to the fast 4 day nature of the trip we bailed on the original intentions and continued around the Spearhead Traverse doing it in reverse style – from Whistler to Blackcomb.
After the storm cleared late on the afternoon of the 17th we got great powder skiing and found a couple of natural slab avalanches. By the end of the next day’s clear and warm conditions the upper snow pack had collapsed to just 15- 25 cm on top of a the previous sun crust. We saw lots of snow balling but we did not see any natural activity.
Yesterday in strong S gusty winds, temps around 0 deg, and very limited visibility we skied out from the top of the Trorrey Glacier. A quick pit on a NW aspect showed 30 cm of snow on the previous crust and presented mod-hard shears. Windward aspects where blown clear of any new snow right to the old temperature crust. It was raining when we got to Treeline. Quite Spring like! Made us pretty damp and happy to get home for beers and a big meal...
The things that stood out from the trip were: the cornices- which were not huge but looked a bit delicate (no doubt are getting bigger today), and the crevasses – many sags and holes, where normally there are much less visible this time of year.
Dave Sarkany
Ski Guide
Sunday, April 19, 2009
[MCR] Professor Falls BNP
Up the Professors today, the route is in great shape, really nice grade 4 climbing on fat and surprisingly dry ice. The chain anchors on the last 3 pitches are now buried under ice. Today's moderate NW winds kept the temps in the shade below 0 until noon. About 60% of the trail from the car park is dry, the rest is snow or ice making the biking a little tricky at times.
Cheers
Mark Stewart
Mountain Guide
Cirrus Alpine Guides
[MCR] Bow Hut/Wapta
Back from a weekend on the Wapta. Saturday and Sunday morning felt like
winter again up there. 15 cm new snow on top of another 30-50cm from the
past week. Seemed well settled with some cracking in steep lee loaded
areas and some small loose sloughs. We were still cautious. Climbed St.
Nick on Saturday descending on the north (hut) side via the most
conservative line. Climbed Rhonda South today. Decent skiing though wind
affected. Moderate yesterday to strong SW winds today. Snow was moist
below the hut after 2pm today.
winter again up there. 15 cm new snow on top of another 30-50cm from the
past week. Seemed well settled with some cracking in steep lee loaded
areas and some small loose sloughs. We were still cautious. Climbed St.
Nick on Saturday descending on the north (hut) side via the most
conservative line. Climbed Rhonda South today. Decent skiing though wind
affected. Moderate yesterday to strong SW winds today. Snow was moist
below the hut after 2pm today.
Regards,
Tom Wolfe
ASG-AAG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
[MCR] Garibaldi Park ~ Decker Glacier.
I hope this finds Everyone enjoying the mid-April weather/snow conditions.
I spent today touring in the Decker Glacier area and thought some of the following observations may be helpful with planning your next outing.
By Saturday afternoon, some stormy cold weather had moved over the South Coast mountains and delivered some very good quality snow. The accompanying winds created some mildly cohesive/slabby snow just below ridges and steep bits of terrain that face north in the alpine regions.
Test results today showed a layer of recently buried crystals is trying to settle but can still perform given the appropriate trigger and type of terrain. The layer is buried up to 45cm below the snow surface. Two recreational ski-tourers triggered this layer in two separate incidents accidentally today. Both incidents occured one beside the other but at separate times. Here are some of the slope and incident details:
* north-facing slope in the alpine.
* previous winds were part of the recipe for making this part of the slope a little 'slabbier' (thicker/more cohesive).
* both avalanches occured where the slope becomes 'convex' (it rolls quite steeply at a certain point).
* the slope failed when the weight of a skier was introduced onto the steepest part of that rolling slope.
* both avalanches were not large enough to bury a person, but were both certainly capable of injuring a person.
Consider avoiding the following combinations right now: winded slopes with big, steep rolls on them.
Lastly, please consider something else of great importance before travelling in the backcountry by asking yourself this question: am I prepared to deal with a first-aid injury out there? Even places that we all regularly ski, that are relatively close to ski areas for example, can seem like you might as well be on the Moon should an injury occur. First aid courses are a starting point.... but then having the right gear..... and a really good emergency evacuation plan, that's communicated to everyone in the group, will help round things out.......
Wishing Everyone safe travels and a good Spring.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Member
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
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I spent today touring in the Decker Glacier area and thought some of the following observations may be helpful with planning your next outing.
By Saturday afternoon, some stormy cold weather had moved over the South Coast mountains and delivered some very good quality snow. The accompanying winds created some mildly cohesive/slabby snow just below ridges and steep bits of terrain that face north in the alpine regions.
Test results today showed a layer of recently buried crystals is trying to settle but can still perform given the appropriate trigger and type of terrain. The layer is buried up to 45cm below the snow surface. Two recreational ski-tourers triggered this layer in two separate incidents accidentally today. Both incidents occured one beside the other but at separate times. Here are some of the slope and incident details:
* north-facing slope in the alpine.
* previous winds were part of the recipe for making this part of the slope a little 'slabbier' (thicker/more cohesive).
* both avalanches occured where the slope becomes 'convex' (it rolls quite steeply at a certain point).
* the slope failed when the weight of a skier was introduced onto the steepest part of that rolling slope.
* both avalanches were not large enough to bury a person, but were both certainly capable of injuring a person.
Consider avoiding the following combinations right now: winded slopes with big, steep rolls on them.
Lastly, please consider something else of great importance before travelling in the backcountry by asking yourself this question: am I prepared to deal with a first-aid injury out there? Even places that we all regularly ski, that are relatively close to ski areas for example, can seem like you might as well be on the Moon should an injury occur. First aid courses are a starting point.... but then having the right gear..... and a really good emergency evacuation plan, that's communicated to everyone in the group, will help round things out.......
Wishing Everyone safe travels and a good Spring.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Member
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
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Saturday, April 18, 2009
[MCR] Glacier Park - Illecillewaet and Asulkan April 17-18
Skied up the Asulkan valley April 17th to the base of the Cleaver yesterday (below Sapphire Col). Poor visibility and less than perfect ski conditions caused us to bail. Snowing 1 cm / hour when we left, turning to rain in valley bottom downstream of the mousetrap.
The freezing level lowered to about 1000m last night, and today (April 18th) we skied up the Illecillewaet valley. 5 cm of low density new snow at the parking lot, turning to about 20cm of new snow high on the Illecillewaet Glacier. Great morning weather turned to poor visibility near the cornice pitch on the approach to Youngs Peak. Turned around and had a great run down the Illecillewaet Glacier. Good skiing right to valley bottom, although it was getting moist. We crossed paths with about 20 people in 6 different parties over the course of the day.
Only a few loose snow avalanches observed in the new snow, to size 1.5.
Jordy Shepherd
ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide
Revelstoke, BC
[MCR] Crowfoot Pass
Toured to Crowfoot Pass today, April 18, via the "Creek Route" (page 166, Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies, 3rd edition). We parked on the highway adjacent to the creek and skied directly to it and that was fine through open timber. Supportive melt freeze crust the whole way with 10 cm of new snow on top of it above treeline, great traveling. Had 2 whumpfing settlements on the flats leading into the col, a wind scraped melt/freeze crust dropping into the basal facets would be my guess. Great ski quality on the way down. The crust was supportive all the way back to the road with the only dropping to ground happening 50 cm away from the highway at 1 pm.
A good tour.
Happy trails,
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
[MCR] crevasses
Via sat phone this morning from the Bugaboos to Rogers Pass traverse: A bridge failed on a 3m wide crevasse when the lead skier was in the middle of it. They had the rope on so no problem. Word was to warn others that crevasse bridges appear to be thinner than normal and and not as strong as they may look. Consider putting the rope on sooner rather than later and keeping it on more rather than less even when things look fairly benign.
Karl Klassen
Mountain Guide
Revelstoke, BC
Mountain Guide
Revelstoke, BC
Friday, April 17, 2009
[MCR] Mt Columbia
April 15 we walked up the snow-coach road (snow-coach tours are running) carrying our skis and then walked down the road onto the Athabasca glacier. Put our packs on sleds and skied up the snow-coach track. The first step of the glacier was passed on climber's right (north) as per normal. At the second step we traversed the glacier back left (south) and passed the second step on the far (south) side of the glacier. This was much less nerve racking than skiing through the fields of serac debris off of the south slopes of Mt Snowdome (those seracs have been much more active this year than last year). We did have to herringbone across 10 meters of exposed glacial ice. As you traverse to the south side of the glacier two snow ramps present options, we took the southernmost and I don't know if the closer ramp goes, if it does it would be quite safe, all things considered. I figure that our route added one hour to our travel time relative to the more common route on the climber's right
(north) side of the glacier.
We were able to ski straight up the "Ramp" of the third step towing our sleds given our climbing tees were the highest lift position. Good snow coverage at the top of the ramp, the crevasses seem to be well bridged there.
April 16 we skied from our high camp, on the BC side, to the Southeast face of Mt Columbia. We used crampons on our ski boots and followed steps from the day before. Good climbing conditions on the face and the mountain saw 8 ski descents, from the summit, in 2 days, none of which were by my guest and I who boot-packed up, and down, the face.
April 17, the winds picked up overnight and we encountered some sastrugi descending the top of the Ramp. We skied out the normal, north, side of the second step and there is an incredible amount of serac debris there, spooky.
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
Thursday, April 16, 2009
[MCR] Mt Field
Good overnight refreeze in spite of only -3C at the
Some clouds in the pm kept the alpine reasonably cool and we found good skiing on up to 20cm of recent snow, which stayed dry to 2200m on easterly aspects and down to about 2000m on straight northern aspects. Further down in the avalanche pass the skiing was still pleasant with up to 5cms of moist snow on the recent melt-freeze crust.
The snow carried today on the way out along the road and in the old tracks around 2.30 pm, but some deep, recent “sinkholes” suggested that someone had much worse conditions coming out on a previous day.
Cheers,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA)
OnTop ltd.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
[MCR] Coast Range - Tantalus/Clowhom
Did a short flight over the Tantalus and into the Clowhom valley this afternoon.
As reported by others recently, conditions still appear quite wintry, especially above 1200m. Trees on south aspects (down to 1500m) still covered in snow at 3 PM. The snow looked to have some wind effect where exposed, but suspect there is some nice snowsport activity to be had in more sheltered terrain. Of particular note was the isolated and sporadic nature of recent avalanche occurrences – I kind of expected to see more natural results. This is likely a result of the inconsistent precip amounts from area to area in the Easter weekend storm. (from 30mm to 80mm depending on where you were measuring in the Sea to Sky area)
A few slides (Size 2-3) looked to be 24-48 hours old, but many were from before Easter. The avalanches that did run more recently appeared to be running far due to avalanche tracks well filled in. There were no deep slabs observed, but suspect the early season deep weakness could still produce large results with either a large trigger in the right spot, or by stepping down from a smaller avalanche.
I am really wondering what will happen when we get the first real blast of summer heat!
Brian Gould
Avalanche near Clowhom Lake
Alpha
Serratus
Tantalus
Brian Gould
[MCR] spring ski conditions; Rockies/ Interior
We just finished one of the ACMG Assistant Ski Guides exams over the last 9 days.
We traveled through the Wapta area on the 7-8, Albert Icefield on the 10-11, and Rogers Pass on the 12-13.
Here is what we found
Wapta Icefield- Objectives included Mt Gordon, Mt Olive, St Nick, Mt Balfour. Overall fast alpine travel conditions, with isothermal conditions at tree line and below in PM. Generally good snowpack stability with deteriorating conditions from daytime warming.
Albert Icefieds (Southern Selkirks)- Conditions changed over the two days from spring like conditions, to winter with 15 cm of new snow in alpine, moist below 6000’. Light to moderate winds from SW creating some transport at ridgetop and lee features. Stability remained in the good range (mod- low hazard), deteriorating on solar aspects from daytime warming/ radiation.
Rogers Pass- Traveled in Asulkan, Illicillewaet, and Connaught drainages. New snow accumulations on average of 30 cm with light to strong SWly winds (location dependant). Soft slabs and lee loading beginning to occur, moderate trail breaking up to 30 cm. excellent powder skiing on North aspects above 5500’. New snow overlies variety of surfaces depending on aspect and elevation, including supportive crust in alpine, moist snow at treeline, and wet snow below tree line. Stability was on a decreasing trend with additional snow accumulations and wind transport/ loading.
Overall temperatures in all areas ranged from -5 to +5. Limited avalanche observations, mostly solar triggered loose snow avalanches on steep southerly and westerly aspects.
Compiled by the Guide candidates
C/O Jeff Honig MG
Hias Ahrens MG
Monday, April 13, 2009
[MCR] Whistler/Blackcomb Backcountry
Out for a few laps today in the Blackcomb Backcountry. Things sure have changed in the past 48hrs. The snow report says that there has been 25cm's of new snow in the past couple days however in many places I would say there is at least 30-50 cm's.
Today we turned back on a West facing slope at 2500m that had a consistent
70 cm soft slab on top of 3cm's of grouple on a sun crust. In a quick pit this layer came off the bock before I cold even do any test (very easy).
Today we turned back on a West facing slope at 2500m that had a consistent
70 cm soft slab on top of 3cm's of grouple on a sun crust. In a quick pit this layer came off the bock before I cold even do any test (very easy).
The skiing of course was excellent, however we saw two skier trigger size 2 avalanches and even got to see one lucky soul take a wild ride in an avalanche 200m away from were we turned around. He was traveling alone and when the slide had come to a stop his head was the only thing out of the debris!
Like I said things have change quite a bit from last weeks relatively stable snowpack, so put your "winter snowpack thinking cap" back on and have some fun out there.
Craig McGee, Mountain Guide
craigskibum@yahoo.com
604 902 0296
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
[MCR] Sprearhead Range
Was up in the Spearhead for the last couple of days. Visited all aspects in the Alpine and the southerly side of Treeline. On southern aspects in the Alpine there is a solid crust covered by a few cm of new snow that fell recently. In many places the snow is blown off, and for a couple of patches it would have been nice to have ski crampons to cut trail. On upper due N aspects new snow now covers faceted loose snow, really good skiing.
On the glaciers there are many crevasses visible and sagging. More than usual for this time of year.
At Treeline on S aspects there is a thick crust (50cm) over wet grains. Yesterday afternoon when we skied out new snow was accumulating fast. The snow was cracking but not sliding.
Good spring touring but a little windy...
Dave Sarkany
Ski Guide
Sunday, April 12, 2009
[MCR] Louise Falls, Red Man Soars
Climbed Louise Falls yesterday, April 11. The climb is huge. We climbed the crux via a groove 5 meters right of the left edge of the curtain, interesting climbing and a half grade harder than usual. The walk off is a little icy and demanded some facing in and front pointing down.
Red Man Soars today, April 12. We used snow shoes and either those, or skis, are a good idea, 10-30 cm of melt/freeze snow lying on the road. We also put our packs on sleds and dragged them to the creek and that was more pleasant than carrying them. The approach ice is like winter canyoneering and it is not long for this world. Running water and deep water threaten, once over it we had a good track to walk on to the climb. The crux is sublimated out with strips of bare rock between some sugary patches of ice. Overall the route is in skinny ice condition, but was a fine and engaging pitch. Whiteman Falls looks blue and good, not much visible evidence of sun affect, but it has water raining down its left and right sides.
Happy trails.
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
Friday, April 10, 2009
[MCR] Athabasca North Face
Attempted the North Face of Athabasca today, too much wind, snow and spindrift so we bailed after 2 pitches. We used snowshoes but they weren't necessary as foot penetration is to boot top right now. Good walking, but it is late winter and it did take awhile to get to the face, and it was a lot of work. There has been a very large serac calving from the glacier that sits between the Silverhorn and the Hourglass route. Many car sized blocks of ice sitting in the basin below the face and the debris ran down to the level of the Boundry Peak Col. That glacier is changing, unfortunately not for the better.
A new small serac has sprouted above the start of the Ramp on the North Glacier route.
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
[MCR] Kokanee Glacier Region
Just finished a week at the Kokanee Glacier Cabin, but these conditions might be helpful for others traveling in the region
Spent the entire week skiing at 2000m and above, never dipping below. The week started out with cold snow on all aspects and by Sunday the big spring melt started. Wednesday was probably the hottest day with a temp of +8 recorded at 2350m in the afternoon. Needless to say, the snowpack is reaching isothermal conditions below treeline, and that elevation is slowly creeping up. There is still dry/cold/settled snow to be found on true north aspects above 2400m, however downslope winds have created some wind effected snow surfaces in the alpine. Any solar aspect is subject to suncrusts, and all aspects below 2400m are getting nightly melt-freeze crusts. No new slab avalanche activity was noted on shady aspects above 2000m, but below this elevation there was tons of loose/wet/point releases on all aspects, with one notable full depth slide at 1900m on a SE aspect above Gibson Lake. Loose point releases occurred to ridge top on solar aspects, and up to 2400m on north aspects.
A few more days of this will likely create more supportable corn skiing surfaces, right now it is not quite ripe, and the window is small to get these solar aspects as the treeline and alpine elevation solar aspects only have a 5-10cm stout crust at this point. Overall it was a transitional week for the snowpack, so keep that in mind!
Evan Stevens
IFMGA Mountain Guide
evan_stevens@hotmail.com
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Spent the entire week skiing at 2000m and above, never dipping below. The week started out with cold snow on all aspects and by Sunday the big spring melt started. Wednesday was probably the hottest day with a temp of +8 recorded at 2350m in the afternoon. Needless to say, the snowpack is reaching isothermal conditions below treeline, and that elevation is slowly creeping up. There is still dry/cold/settled snow to be found on true north aspects above 2400m, however downslope winds have created some wind effected snow surfaces in the alpine. Any solar aspect is subject to suncrusts, and all aspects below 2400m are getting nightly melt-freeze crusts. No new slab avalanche activity was noted on shady aspects above 2000m, but below this elevation there was tons of loose/wet/point releases on all aspects, with one notable full depth slide at 1900m on a SE aspect above Gibson Lake. Loose point releases occurred to ridge top on solar aspects, and up to 2400m on north aspects.
A few more days of this will likely create more supportable corn skiing surfaces, right now it is not quite ripe, and the window is small to get these solar aspects as the treeline and alpine elevation solar aspects only have a 5-10cm stout crust at this point. Overall it was a transitional week for the snowpack, so keep that in mind!
Evan Stevens
IFMGA Mountain Guide
evan_stevens@hotmail.com
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Thursday, April 9, 2009
[MCR] Robertson Glacier Photos
Glacier following a flight today.
Mike Koppang
Kananaskis Country Public Safety
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009
[MCR] Bow Falls, Murchison Falls
Climbed Murchison Falls today, April 8. Trails was supportive and good until above tree line then some postholing in a sometimes breakable, sometimes supportive crust. The climb is in good shape with some dinner plating due to melt/freeze of the surface. Sun hits the climb at about 1:30 pm. Most established abalakovs have melted out, I had to reset a couple. Heard some rockfall off the wall to the north, no ice fall, but that will come with more clear sunny days. The crust had thawed when we walked away at 4 pm.
Climbed Bow Falls on April 7th. The route is in great shape with wind hammered snow leading to the ice. Felt like mild winter on the way in and spring on the way out. Slopes beside Aimless and Pointless Gulleys had slid, several to ground, as point release wet snow avalanches due to direct sun.
Happy trails
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
[MCR] South Eastern Coast Mountains
I got back from working In the E Coast Mountains a couple of days ago.
This is the shallowest and most faceted snowpack this region has seen in years, and I’d bet most eastern Coast Mountain slopes, north of this region (to just south of Kitimat) share similar qualities. Two weeks ago the area got a meter of new snow on top of the facets. Most everything ripped out. BIG fracture lines everywhere. By last Friday most avalanche activity had stopped although some slopes continued to slide- cornice triggered, fracturing to the Dec 6 layer, in steep terrain.
Now in many places there still is a slab of cohesive snow sitting on top of facets. Mid last week I dug a profile in a valley to the E of Baldwin’s Cabin in the Slim drainage. Basically it consisted of 60cm of Facets and Depth Hoar below a 60 cm 1F slab of new snow. The facets where so loose that while standing in the pit I could push my fist in shoulder deep and then wave a straight arm 180 deg side to side. Below this, at ground, is the Dec 6 layer which is all ice. In another area, near the Taseko Lakes, I was still breaking through to ground skiing downhill! Although the skiing was quite good the best thing that can happen to strengthen this snowpack is for it to melt! And you can bet that is going on right now...
As you go west towards the height of land of the Coast Mountains the pack changes dramatically. It is a lot thicker and stronger. Much like your average year but with less snow depth. There is no doubt a Basal Dec 6 ice layer still lingering in most places, and I’d bet the snow above this will wake up and slide as the spring pack goes isothermal. In May 93 I did a traverse in this region (through the Toba/Compton) and there was a similar crust facet combo that winter. I watched kilometres of mountain side rip out, meters deep, after a few days of heat. Interestingly many of these big slides happened very late in the afternoon/evening even on N aspects.
Dave Sarkany
Ski Guide
Monday, April 6, 2009
[MCR] Wapta Traverse
We skied into Bow Hut on the 2nd, Balfour Hut on the 3rd, Scott Duncan Hut on the 4th, out Sherbrooke Lake on the 5th. Great travel conditions overall, trailbreaking was ankle deep at the most. Boot packed up Mt Olive on route to Balfour hut. Breakable sun crust on southerly aspects on the Schiesser/Lomas exit. The east facing gullies off of Mt Ogden were running with wet avalanches by mid day on the 5th.
Happy Trails
Barry Blanchard
UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
Sunday, April 5, 2009
[MCR] Purity, Bishops and Dawson Ranges - Selkirks - Mar 31 to Apr 4
Last 5 days travelled from Rogers Pass into the Purity Range, then across the Bishops Glacier to Glacier Circle and out over Youngs Peak back to Rogers Pass.
Conditions were good with over 300 cm of snowdepth on all glaciers and well bridged crevasses. Lots of low density storm snow has accumulated in alpine areas with ski penetrations of 40-60cm above 2400m. Some areas above 2900m was 120 cm foot penetration! No windslab formation made for relatively low avalanche hazard, but that changes immediately when the sun comes out and bakes all that loose snow. Watch out if the wind comes up too, as it wouldn't take much to blow all this fluff into a windslab.
Fantastic dry powder skiing on shaded terrain, and suncrust on all other aspects. This crust was not yet thick enough to support a skier, but we used ski crampons occasionally to deal with the firm travel.
Grant Statham
Mountain Guide
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Conditions were good with over 300 cm of snowdepth on all glaciers and well bridged crevasses. Lots of low density storm snow has accumulated in alpine areas with ski penetrations of 40-60cm above 2400m. Some areas above 2900m was 120 cm foot penetration! No windslab formation made for relatively low avalanche hazard, but that changes immediately when the sun comes out and bakes all that loose snow. Watch out if the wind comes up too, as it wouldn't take much to blow all this fluff into a windslab.
Fantastic dry powder skiing on shaded terrain, and suncrust on all other aspects. This crust was not yet thick enough to support a skier, but we used ski crampons occasionally to deal with the firm travel.
Grant Statham
Mountain Guide
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
[MCR] Nemesis, Stanley Valley, Kootenay Park.
Climbed Nemesis today. Nasty skiing up there these days. Weak snow under a sometimes breakable crust off the trail. The trail up to the valley is a good slideslipping descent, but a tiresome skin up.
Snow pack on the approach slope is good right now. Could get scary with more snow or warm temps, but the terrain directly below and slightly left of the route is pretty benign. Absolutely no way I would go on the route on a warm day or right after any temperature change as there are some MASSIVE ice roofs hanging left of the route.
Good climbing conditions for most of the route. Lots of features and good feet mostly. We found brittle, glassy ice for the last 20m and that was tedious and a bit insecure.
Larry Stanier
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
[MCR] Wapta Traverse
Wapta Traverse Mar 28 to Apr 1, 2009
Just returned from the Wapta Traverse with a crew from MEC Edmonton. We entered through Peyto Lake, climbed Mt. Gordon mid-trip, and exited through Sherbrooke Lake via the Scheisser/Lomas route. Overall conditions on the traverse are great.
The weather over the last few days has been a mixed bag bringing everything from total whiteout conditions to broken skies. It definitely still feels like winter on the Wapta with morning temperatures ranging from -14 to -10 celcius. Several days had significant windchills into the -25 range. The only exception was the afternoon of Mar 31 when we experenced mostly clear skies and warm temps. Despite the temperatures and radiation the snow still stayed cold at higher elevations. Every day did give a bit of new snow with a five day total in the neighbourhood of 15 to 20cm.
The Peyto Lake approach still has significant areas of weak snow from the lake up to the glacier research station. However, if you are able to find and stay on the old trails, travel is reasonable. The snowpack measured 280cm in depth on the Peyto Glacier. Travel between Peyto Hut, Bow Hut, Mt. Gordon and Balfour Hut are all easy with ski penetration of 10 to 15cm.
From Balfour Hut to Balfour High Col snowpack analysis gave consistent hard compression tests down 35cm and 85cm. There is approximately 80cm of facets and depth hoar making up the base layers of the snowpack which still gives some concern for triggering avalanches in shallow snowpack areas. In most areas the midpack appears dense and strong, but there is signifcant variability due to wind action in the alpine. Once on the glacier below the serac bands there is anywhere from 300cm to as little as 100cm of snow! There were several spots in the tighter crevasse fields where we kept the rope tight and did lots of probing. The seracs did a bit of cracking and popping, but no recent icefall activity was noted.
On the exit from Scott Duncan Hut the cornices on Mt. Niles are still looming. There was some small sluffing coming down the face and some old cornice debris, but nothing recent. At treeline there is a nasty suncrust making for challenging skiing until down into the valley. The final trail below Sherbrooke Lake is in the usual icy, fast, exciting "luge ride" condition.
Play safe!
Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
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Just returned from the Wapta Traverse with a crew from MEC Edmonton. We entered through Peyto Lake, climbed Mt. Gordon mid-trip, and exited through Sherbrooke Lake via the Scheisser/Lomas route. Overall conditions on the traverse are great.
The weather over the last few days has been a mixed bag bringing everything from total whiteout conditions to broken skies. It definitely still feels like winter on the Wapta with morning temperatures ranging from -14 to -10 celcius. Several days had significant windchills into the -25 range. The only exception was the afternoon of Mar 31 when we experenced mostly clear skies and warm temps. Despite the temperatures and radiation the snow still stayed cold at higher elevations. Every day did give a bit of new snow with a five day total in the neighbourhood of 15 to 20cm.
The Peyto Lake approach still has significant areas of weak snow from the lake up to the glacier research station. However, if you are able to find and stay on the old trails, travel is reasonable. The snowpack measured 280cm in depth on the Peyto Glacier. Travel between Peyto Hut, Bow Hut, Mt. Gordon and Balfour Hut are all easy with ski penetration of 10 to 15cm.
From Balfour Hut to Balfour High Col snowpack analysis gave consistent hard compression tests down 35cm and 85cm. There is approximately 80cm of facets and depth hoar making up the base layers of the snowpack which still gives some concern for triggering avalanches in shallow snowpack areas. In most areas the midpack appears dense and strong, but there is signifcant variability due to wind action in the alpine. Once on the glacier below the serac bands there is anywhere from 300cm to as little as 100cm of snow! There were several spots in the tighter crevasse fields where we kept the rope tight and did lots of probing. The seracs did a bit of cracking and popping, but no recent icefall activity was noted.
On the exit from Scott Duncan Hut the cornices on Mt. Niles are still looming. There was some small sluffing coming down the face and some old cornice debris, but nothing recent. At treeline there is a nasty suncrust making for challenging skiing until down into the valley. The final trail below Sherbrooke Lake is in the usual icy, fast, exciting "luge ride" condition.
Play safe!
Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
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[MCR] CAC Avalanche Incident Photo Analysis Link
The following should solve the link issue:
http://avalancheinfo.net/Media/2008-09/200903%20Avalanche%20Incident%20Photo%20Analysis.pdf
Oops.
Karl Klassen
Mountain Guide
Revelstoke, BC
Mountain Guide
Revelstoke, BC
[MCR] Ryan and Rutherford Valleys north of Whistler.
I hope this finds Everyone enjoying the beginning of Spring....
Yesterday amounted to a pleasant day in the hills. It was snowing in the valleys early morning, and then became sunny and warm by mid-morning with some flurries on the higher peaks by early-afternoon.
The best snow was found in sheltered (where no wind and sun has affected it) north as well as some east-facing alpine and treeline terrain; although, the snow became moist as you skied into lower-angle terrain on the north sides at approximately 5000'. The snow was still cold and light, and boot-top deep in those north-facing sheltered places. Even a slight tilt in the slope toward a southeast, south, south-west, or westerly direction had a noticeable crust forming on the snow surface.
I didn't observe any new slab-avalanche activity yesterday but be cautious at this time of year. Spring days produce a good deal of heat in the form of direct sun-effect on slopes that are southerly-facing (especially steeper ones) and also in the form of 'heat' that gets trapped beneath a cloud layer (even a thin one) and the snow surface ~ creating a 'greenhouse' effect which can destabilise the snow.
I did notice that cornices are large and overhanging in places and should be given a wide margin if you are travelling past terrain with an overhead hazard such as this. But, also consider not just the obvious hazard - which is the cornice itself.... but the type/size/scale/consequences of the slope beneath that cornice should it be subjected to a cornice fall..... a 'bomb' like that has the potential to awaken those old and deeply-buried layers in the snowcover that have been haunting us all all season........
Wishing you a great start to the Spring ski season.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Member
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
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Yesterday amounted to a pleasant day in the hills. It was snowing in the valleys early morning, and then became sunny and warm by mid-morning with some flurries on the higher peaks by early-afternoon.
The best snow was found in sheltered (where no wind and sun has affected it) north as well as some east-facing alpine and treeline terrain; although, the snow became moist as you skied into lower-angle terrain on the north sides at approximately 5000'. The snow was still cold and light, and boot-top deep in those north-facing sheltered places. Even a slight tilt in the slope toward a southeast, south, south-west, or westerly direction had a noticeable crust forming on the snow surface.
I didn't observe any new slab-avalanche activity yesterday but be cautious at this time of year. Spring days produce a good deal of heat in the form of direct sun-effect on slopes that are southerly-facing (especially steeper ones) and also in the form of 'heat' that gets trapped beneath a cloud layer (even a thin one) and the snow surface ~ creating a 'greenhouse' effect which can destabilise the snow.
I did notice that cornices are large and overhanging in places and should be given a wide margin if you are travelling past terrain with an overhead hazard such as this. But, also consider not just the obvious hazard - which is the cornice itself.... but the type/size/scale/consequences of the slope beneath that cornice should it be subjected to a cornice fall..... a 'bomb' like that has the potential to awaken those old and deeply-buried layers in the snowcover that have been haunting us all all season........
Wishing you a great start to the Spring ski season.
Best regards,
Dale Marcoux
ACMG Member
ACMG Assistant Ski Guide
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